7.2.3 Purchases below the Small Purchase Limit (Small Purchases)

It is required that a requisition for supplies, general services and construction that is less than the small purchase limit but greater than or equal to $10,000, include documentation demonstrating reasonable competition from at least three vendors, when practical. This documentation must include either:

1. quotes from multiple vendors for the supply/service requested; or,
2. an iBuy Purchase Requisition form documenting the reason(s) why multiple quotes were not attainable.

Reasonable competition can be demonstrated by:

• obtaining written quotes from competing vendors,
• requesting pricing via email,
• web search results demonstrating pricing, or
• telephone quotations (must be documented to state which vendor was contacted and the pricing quoted).

Note: Obtaining quotes for items that are not similar in nature is not considered reasonable competition.

Units should consider small and diverse businesses in this competitive process. Small and diverse businesses can be identified by searching the Illinois Commission on Equity and Inclusion's Business Enterprise Program (BEP) and Small Business Set-Aside Program (SBSP) directories, utilizing the Urbana Purchasing Certified BEP Vendors & Supplier Diversity Programs page, or by contacting the University of Illinois System's Office of Procurement Diversity.

In order to promote the inclusion of diverse and small businesses in the system’s small purchases, purchases between $10,000 and $20,000, that are not federally funded, do not require multiple quotes if the selected vendor is a currently certified BEP, State Use -Sheltered Workshop, or SBSP vendor.

Purchases for supplies or services that are not prohibited or restricted and less than or equal to $10,000 may be purchased through an iBuy purchase requisition. If a vendor supplies terms and conditions for such purchase, then such vendor terms shall be attached to an iBuy requisition as an “Internal Attachment” and use the iBuy Purchase Requisition form to initiate the requisition. Purchases for supplies or services that are not prohibited or restricted and less than or equal to $7,500 may be purchased using a Purchase Card (PCard). If possible, competition should be sought by units making these purchases and ensure the PCard transactions are in compliance with 7.6 The University Purchasing Card (P-Card).

Requisitions for standing purchase orders under $100,000 require the same level of reasonable competition as other small purchases. When a standing purchase order is for a catalog of items, the requisitioner can use historical purchase information to determine the quantities and types of products being purchased, in order to evaluate pricing catalogs from multiple vendors.

The Illinois Procurement Code defines professional and artistic services specifically as:

• Law
• Accounting
• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Clinical Psychology
• Custom-Produced Art

Procurements for professional and artistic services below the small purchases limit and that have a non-renewable term of one year or less, may be made without the prior notice or level of competition otherwise required of competitive sealed solicitations.

The appropriate university or system purchasing office should draft the contract for these professional and artistic services. These small purchases are required to be published to the Illinois Procurement Bulletin no later than 14 calendar days after contract execution.

Competition does not need to be demonstrated if a purchase is made under an existing University of Illinois System contract, as competition was established through the initial solicitation/award process. Examples of where a small purchase may be made under an existing University of Illinois System contract include:

• Catalog iBuy purchases
• Purchases off a campus-wide or University strategic contract,
• Purchases off an Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative (IPHEC) award,
• Purchases off a State of Illinois master contract that are authorized to be used by Public Institutions of Higher Education in Illinois by the Chief Procurement Officer for Higher Education,
• Purchases from adoption of other approved consortia agreements (e.g., E&I, Big Ten Academic Alliance, Midwest Higher Education Compact, etc.) approved for use by the Chief Procurement Officer for Higher Education.